ShelterBox in Action

ShelterBox are immensely grateful for the generous donations of its supporters which allow it to respond to humanitarian disasters around the world.

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Philippines - Tropical storm Usman hit the on 29 December 2018. Heavy rains triggered landslides across the centre of the country and the storm coinciding with the monsoon season made the rainfall and flooding even worse. The Storm reportedly resulted in around 300,000 people being displaced. ShelterBox are currently distributing essential shelter aid including ShelterKits, mosquito nets, water kits, low-thermal blankets, solar lamps and storage boxes with the aim of supporting 2,229 households. The distributions are being supported by Catarman and Calbayog Rotary Clubs.

Ethiopia - has the second largest refugee population in Africa with over 900,000 people displaced from consecutive years of drought, heavy rains, and flash flooding alongside conflict. ShelterBox are now supplying aid which will shelter 1,500 households in West Guji consisting of tarpaulins, ropes, blankets, water carriers, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, and kitchen sets.

Nigeria - Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in since 2009 with the violence spreading across the Lake Chad Basin to the neighbouring regions of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Currently 449 Households are to be supported in Nigeria with locally procured ShelterKits and 600 families in the Minawao camp in Cameroon will be provided with tents and supporting items and 200 ShelterKits provided to internally displaced people outside the camp.

Syria - the conflict has been lasting 7 years and counting; more than half of all Syrians have been forced to flee their homes with 5.6m becoming refugees. ShelterBox continues to provide aid to help the most vulnerable people who are not being reached by other humanitarian organisations - this winter they are delivering winterised aid packages with ShelterKits containing high thermal blankets.

In 2018 ShelterBox responded 18 times to different disasters helping over 210,000 people... that's over 30,000 families supported with emergency shelter aid and other essential household items... and a further 12,000 families supported with essential household items including blankets, mosquito nets, solar lights, cooking sets, water carriers and water filters. Local Rotary groups and Rotarians around the world helped in 10 of their responses.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in Northern Nigeria, the violence has since spread to the neighbouring regions of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Around 10.7 million people in the Lake Chad region are in need of relief assistance. 2.4 million people are estimated to have been displaced and perpetual insecurity continues to drive displacement. In Syria the conflict Syria is entering its ninth year; the brutal civil war has so far caused the displacement of nearly 700,000 people.

Chad

Niger

Syria

Continuing their long term assistance in 2018 ShelterBox provided- Cameroon:1,700 tents, 500 ShelterKits, 1,850 semi-permanent shelters, and 6,600 hygiene kits- Niger:ShelterKits, mosquito nets, water carriers, ground mats, and kitchen sets to nearly 2,500 families- Chad:tarpaulins, blankets, water carriers, kitchen sets and solar lamps to nearly 2,000 families and - Nigeria:aid for 1,130 families is planned so far, 650 ShelterKits and 913 non-food items have been provided- Syria:2,000 families have been provided with tents, tarpaulins, water carriers and solar lights; 218 families received ShelterKits and other aid - in total, ShelterBox have helped 45,000 families who have been displaced by the war in Syria.

Super Typoon Mangkhut equivalent to a category 5 Atlantic Hurricane hit the Philippines in September. The high winds and torrential rains caused widespread damage affecting 2.1 million people with 110,000 homes damaged and 10,000 completely destroyed. ShelterBox provided aid to 1,042 families. Also, in May 2018, in response to flooding after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak households received a mixture of Shelterkits and tents. The Philippines is ShelterBox’s most ‘deployed to’ country to date, with this being the 25th deployment since 2004.

2 countries affected by floods Ethiopia and KenyaIn Ethiopia, severe flooding and conflict forced thousands of people to leave their homes. ShelterBox distributed aid to 2,000 households. Across Kenya heavy rain and flooding caused over 290,000 people to leave their homes in fact the 2018 March-May rains were the heaviest in the past 55 years, with some areas receiving twice the seasonal average. A dam burst in Kenya's Rift Valley killing more than 50 people in two villages, half of them children. Importing aid in the country was a huge challenge, due to the country's strict plastic bag ban. They resolved this by removing all plastic and repackaging ShelterKits. 2,000 families received aid.

2 earthquakes in IndonesiaAt the end of September, a deadly earthquake and a tsunami struck Indonesia, destroying almost everything in their path. This came less than 2 months after an earthquake struck Lombok island. Over 2,100 people lost their lives and at least 200,000 people had nowhere to call home. ShelterBox provided tents, water filters and carriers, and mosquito nets to families in remote communities whose homes were completely destroyed.

Severe drought - Somaliland

This has affected an estimated 766,000 people since November 2016, leading to the degrading of grazing land and displacement of families, forcing them to move large distances to seek fresh food for their animals. ShelterBox continue to help with 2,000 families in total receiving ShelterBoxes in the latest phase.

Volcanic activity - Guatamala

In June, Guatemala was left reeling after the most violent and devastating volcanic eruption for 44 years. The Fuego volcano spewed lava, ash, rocks and deadly hot gas onto hillside villages, killing over 100 people. Hundreds of families were left living in schools and churches with poor sanitation and privacy, as these buildings were not designed to house so many people. ShelterBox provided small tents which were used to give privacy and preserve dignity.

In 2017, ShelterBox helped 160,000 people; that’s 32,000 families who have lost everything through conflict or natural disaster.

They responded to world events 24 times, an average of twice a month - the highest number of days ever deployed in one year and provided vital aid to 21 Countries- ShelterBoxes & Shelter Kits and tens of thousands of other non food aid such as tarpaulins, blankets, LuminAids, water carriers and rope have been distributed with the help of local Rotary Clubs.

Tens of thousands of people were displaced after fleeing attacks from Boko Haram in Cameroon, Niger and Chad, the militant group has been waging this insurgency since 2009 and more than 2.3m people are displaced across the Lake Chad Basin. The Mosul and Raqqa offensives have displaced more than a million Iraqis leaving may without a home to go back to and the Syria conflict, now in its seventh year, has resulted in the internal displacement of over 13m people.

Syria

Chad

15 countries affected by natural disasters:

Hurricanes:Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic and St Kitts and NevisThere was severe devastation in the Caribbean from Hurricane Irma early September with Hurricane Maria 2 weeks later aggravating the disaster.

Severe Flooding:Bangladesh, Colombia, Haiti, Paraguay and Peru

Monsoon rains in Nepal & Bangladesh were the worst to hit the country in 4 decades left 8m people in urgent need of aid; in Peru a year’s rainfall fell in the month of May and the receding waters left

Bangladesh

Columbia

Peru

devastation in their wake with collapsed houses and vast amounts of dry river mud; mudslides also buried whole neighbourhoods in Columbia particularly the city of Mocoa when one third of the region’s monthly rainfall fell in one night.

Tropical Cyclones: Madagascar and MozambiqueIn February tropical storm Dineo brought heavy rains and winds of more than 160km per hour to the south coast of Mozambique

Drought: SomalilandThe continuing severe drought in Somaliland has resulted in an 85% livestock loss during the year forcing communities to move increasingly large distances to seek fresh food for their animals resulting in their being displaced and destitute.

In 2016 ShelterBox responded to 16 natural disasters and conflicts including responding to a cyclone Winston in Fiji, earthquakes in Japan & Ecuador, conflict in Syria & Iraq, hurricane in Haiti and Typhoon Bolavon in North Korea.

Fiji

Haiti

Syria

DPRK

They provided 29,300 families with a variety of essential shelter and aid items that included:

9,100 ShelterKits

4045 ShelterBox tents

6,640 Kitchen Sets

27,030 Solar Lamps and

36,742 blankets

This means more than 240,000 households have been helped to date with Rotary supporting 90% of worldwide deployments and more than 1m people have been given shelter.

2015 arrived like a deluge with record flooding in many parts of the world with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing monsoons, rainstorms and rising rivers. ShelterBox had an extremely busy year supporting families with tailored responses but particularly notable has been the introduction of the different types of shelter being deployed as well as the standard boxes – UN spec tents, Shelter Kits, Tarpaulins, a new Flex tent with stove & chimney and school kits.

In total over 28000 families were helped across 17 disasters 9 from natural disasters such as flood, landslide earthquake etc. and 8 as a result of conflict. Over recent years the conflict proportion has been increasing. The chart right shows usage as a percentage of donations.

Commencing end 2014 Malaysia was hit by intense monsoon rains, the worst for seen in the last 40 years, which continued unabated into 2015 engulfing villages and rain forest communities and displacing almost ¼m people. ShelterBox focused its aid in the eastern state of Pahang, where more than 130,000 people had been evacuated and the effects of the worst flooding reached further than the waters themselves with homes, villages and roads completely destroyed, leaving whole communities homeless and inaccessible. The only way to get ShelterBoxes to them was by river.

This video shows the extent of devastation caused by the flood waters and, after the water levels had fallen, how with the assistance of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) the team got the boxes upriver to deliver aid to people who had lost everything.

Throughout the course of a year, the landlocked country of Malawi is regularly hit by floods and droughts, but last year's deluge again is said to be the worst in memory. It left more than 230,000 people without homes and destroyed countless farms and livelihoods. The Licungo and Zambezi rivers were flowing so rapidly that initially it was impossible to reach many displaced communities, even by boat. Helicopters were deployed, but continuing bad weather frustrated attempts to help families trapped without shelter or possessions. ShelterBox working through tough weather and challenging landscapes began distributing aid end March 15 and 6 of the Club's donated boxes were in that allocation. These boxes particularly included mosquito nets and water purification units that to help prevent disease. In total 2,124 families were supported with ShelterBoxes, Shelter kits and tarpaulins.

After months of negotiation ShelterBox distributed 500 boxes to war torn Gaza in March which contained gloves, hats and scarves as well as extra blankets, vital as Gaza had been experiencing extreme weather conditions with snowfall, hailstorms and flash flooding in places. The tents were designed with special ventilation, so that they would stay cool when the hot weather eventually arrived.

A category five cyclone devastated Vanuatu, one of the world's poorest nations, situated around 1,000 miles east of northern Australia in the South Pacific, causing destruction across the country's sprawling cluster of more than 80 islands. The strength of the storm which raged in March, with winds reaching almost 200 miles per hour, has been compared to that of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated large parts of the Philippines in 2013. More than a quarter of a million people were made homeless and up to 90% of structures destroyed or damaged - 2,500 tarps, 1,000 tool kits, 2,250 nets, 7,500 blankets and 1,500 solar lamps were distributed.

In Nepalconditions and import/export regulations together with the Government preference for rebuilding rather than tents posed problems to respond to the gigantic 7.2 mag earthquake. However 13,513 families were helped with 1736 shelter kits as these are smaller, lighter and easier to carry up the mountains, 497 UN tents, 69 Boxes and tarps.

Many of the homes affected by the flash flooding in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will take a long time to repair, so ShelterBox provided a selection of items that will help people to keep warm throughout the extreme temperatures experienced during the winter, which can be as low as -25°C. They used, for the first time, a new Flex 3 tent which is a quilted, three layer tent designed so that a stove can be safely placed and used inside. They have also provided the stoves, which can not only be used for cooking, but to heat the tent too and 400 families were helped in this way.

1500 families were supported with shelter kits in Chile following flooding and a huge volcanic eruption which engulfed houses (shown left). ShelterBox had to reconsider its normal deployment criteria with the thousands of Syrian refugees arriving in Greece in the autumn. Because of the situation they deployed 100 UN tents for 1 month; these were used by a different family every 2-3 days! A further Club sponsored ShelterBox was one of those deployed.

Political unrest in Burundi resulted in thousands fleeing to Tanzania, 998 families were given shelter with UN spec tents and ShelterBox continued to support the crisis in Syria. Millions of aid has been used over the last few years to try to keep the communities in Syria in these desperate situations for families and an additional 3111 families were supported with UN spec tents and non-food items. Similarly in Iraq-Kurdistan 327 families internally displaced fleeing ISIS were helped with ShelterBoxes.

Another refugee crisis was responded to in Niger (left) and Cameroon with migrants fleeing from Boko Haram in Nigeria; 1216 families were supported with ShelterBoxes in Niger and 1224 in Cameroon.

At the end of the year assistance was again sent to DPR Korea following a typhoon in the form of 400 Flex 3 tents with stoves with 2000 additional blankets.

In 2014 ShelterBox responded to 25 disasters across the world.

Philippines – Typhoons Rammasun and Hagupit

The typhoon season in the Philippines returned with a vengeance on 16 July when Typhoon Rammasun (locally known as Glenda) swept through the north of the country leaving 94 people dead and more than 300 injured. The local government estimates that about 7,000 homes in Bicol were totally destroyed by Rammasun, which packed winds of up to 185 km an hour.

Little more than one year after Typhoon Hayian caused devastation across the country it was struck again by Typhoon Hagupit (Typhoon Ruby locally) in December 2014 which has also cause vast damage. ShelterBox initially have deployed tarpaulins which can be used to make temporary shelters.

Nepal

ShelterBox teams overcame formidable obstacles to be able to distribute aid to 14,000 displaced families in Nepal after floods and landslides.

Niger

250 Boxes were distributed in Niger in November after heavy rainfall caused flooding along the River Niger.

Pakistan

Severe flooding and rising political tensions in the Kashmir region of Pakistan left thousands of people homeless, 496 tents were sent.

Paraguay/ArgentinaShelterBox responded to the heavy rains in June by sending 488 shelter kits.

Iraq

Conflict between sects in Iraq has forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. The majority has fled north to Iraq Kurdistan across various regions. ShelterBox is working with partner aid agencies to support the humanitarian response in terms of shelter for internally displaced persons. 350 tents and kitchen sets that have been pre-positioned in the country are being distributed.

Serbia and Bosnia

Unprecedented torrential rain caused widespread flooding in Serbia and Bosnia forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes. Many have called it the worst flooding in the Balkans in decades. ShelterBox worked with in country aid agencies and local Rotary clubs to assess the need for emergency shelter and other vital aid. Subsequently, 1,500 mosquito nets were sent to Bosnia where disease was on the rise with the heat, water levels and mosquitoes. Tents, water filters and water carriers, mosquito nets, solar lamps, groundsheets and blankets were sent to Serbia where they were distributed by the fire services and local Rotarian volunteers.

Syria

It's been three years since the conflict broke out in Syria. Over 9 million people have been forced from their homes in the war-torn country having been exposed to violence and unremitting fighting. The majority, 6.5m, remain within the borders with no home to go to and no possessions and over 2.7 million refugees, three quarters of them being women and children, seek safety and shelter across neighbouring countries.

A partner agency has delivered 200 tents and 1,200 blankets to displaced Syrian families and distribution of aid continues in the region through our implementing partner Hand in Hand for Syria (HIHS). Shelter Repair Kits and more tents are en route to Syria for HIHS to distribute on our behalf. Mosquito nets, water filters and carriers, blankets, groundsheets, School Boxes and solar lamps have also been sent.

ShelterBox says 'The Syrian crisis is complex and bloody with no end in sight. But we are able to make a real difference on the ground. We have developed strong partnerships with those able to operate on our behalf in the country, and through careful distribution management and the increasing use of technology, we are able to effectively identify and reach the most desperate. Thanks to the support, kind donations and amazing fundraising efforts of our supporters, ShelterBox has already been able to send aid to support over 5,000 families in Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon and Jordan. But three years on many thousands still need our help more than ever.'

Bolivia

In early February 2014 tens of thousands of people were killed or forced from their homes across the northwest of the land-locked American country of Bolivia, by widespread flooding. Close to 60,000 families had their homes damaged in towns and villages in the northern areas in particular, 84,000 cattle were lost destroying livelihoods and possibly creating a food crisis in the making. In Santa Ana, 90% of their cattle were lost. ShelterBox worked with Oxfam to distribute 448 boxes.

ZimbabweFlash flooding in late January/early February 2014 forced thousands of families from their homes in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. ShelterBox distributed 805 tents in Chingwizi camp. Camp residents were surviving with many families left sleeping on the bare earth for weeks on end, no more than frail black plastic sheeting keeping their families safe. Due to the remote location, many other agencies were unable to help.

A major action for ShelterBox in 2013 was responding to the violence in Syria; which forced families from their homes to flee to neighbouring countries for safety.

ShelterBox sent aid to support over 4,500 families not only in Syria but also in neighbouring Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. Working with other organisations who already have an established presence in the country, ShelterBox was able to bring much needed aid to people in need in the camps as well as to those in less obvious areas. With winter conditions worsened with freezing temperatures and limited resources. The need for protection was critical and ShelterBox offered a winterised shelter solution.

ShelterBox has also been involved across the globe particularly in:

Fiji responding to Cyclone Evan - where the biggest cyclone to strike the Pacific nation in two decades left houses flattened and streets flooded. Aid was available in days due to boxes already having been pre-positioned

Nigeriawhere thousands of families were left homeless after the country's worst flooding in 50 years destroyed, houses, villages and crops. More than 1,300 families received shelter and essential equipment

Queensland, Australia where within in weeks of the raging bush fires in Tasmania, Tropical Cyclone Oswald caused widespread flooding and destruction and emergency shelter was needed to be used

Philippines where Typhoon Bopha caused unimaginable devastationMadagascar where 150 boxes were sent in response to the worst floods from a cyclone since 1978

Uganda's Mbale district which endured a tough year having been hit by three disasters, including a cyclone, flooding and severe storm damage

SW Pakistan with 173 boxes were sent after an earthquake

Oklahoma, USA was severely impacted by tornadoes in May. There were massive piles of debris everywhere; personal items hanging out of trees, twisted mobile homes, people were living in their damaged cars that were tumbled during the tornadoes under tarpaulins and in standard tents that are not suitable for extreme weather conditions, especially during the hot summer months. ShelterBox tents were distributed to provide them a temporary solution to bridge the gap until rebuilding is complete

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ShelterBox is one of very few western agencies invited to work there and a Rotarian connection in Shanghai, China and DPRK's Trade Ministry paved the way for ShelterBox to shelter rural families made homeless by last year's typhoon and this summer's heavy rains. This country has extremely harsh winters, but the world paid little attention to Typhoon Bolaven, because it seemed unlikely that this insular republic would either ask for, or accept, any outside help. Nevertheless ShelterBox were able to establish this unusual supply route. 3 of the Club's donated boxes were sent out in June to Korea. The picture shows ShelterBox tents by the river in Unpa. Continuous rains in the summer caused the water level to rise

Sudanfloods in the Khartoum area affected over 300,000 people who were made homeless and there were more in the White Nile area further south. Many houses were made of sun-dried bricks which simply dissolved when the floodwaters rose. 504 tents were distributed to families and 24 School Boxes were also distributed in White Nile area

Nigerin September 2013 when there was widespread flooding particularly in and around the capital Niamey. Local Rotarians, the Scouts, Red Cross, and the Fire Brigade helped ShelterBox bring much-needed shelter to families made homeless. Once the tents arrived, the camp was set up within a few days and families were moving in their new homes as tents were pitched. 'We love our ShelterBox tent as when we zip it up it keeps out scorpions, mosquitos and rain,' commented one family with nine children. 'It even has a floor. In just three hours the water completely flooded our house; it just melted away leaving us with nothing.' ShelterBox also provided Lifestraws (water filters) to Oxfam for them to be used by thousands of people in Agadez who had been drinking out of dirty rivers

Pakistan's Baluchistan province suffered a 7.7-magnitude tremor in an area prone to quakes and other disasters, demolishing homes and causing hundreds of people to lose their lives and many casualties. Another 7.2 quake hit in the same area a week later. ShelterBox sent 800 tents to the affected area within hours to be distributed

Philippineswhere rebel fighting in Zamboanga south-west caused at least 13,000 people to find shelter and 380 midi tents were provided. The effects of the 7.2-magnitude quake were also felt in the Philippines in Cebu and Bohol, where infrastructure crumbled and major roads been ripped open and blocked by landslides resulting in loss of life as well as many people injured.

In 2012 ShelterBox responded to 23 different disasters providing more than 5,000 families with emergency shelter and vital equipment.

They responded to:- flooding in Brazil, Fiji, Peru, Russia, Democratic Republic of Korea, Philippines, Nigeria, USA, Nigel, Pakistan, Uganda, and Columbia- Tropical Storms in Madagascar, Haiti, Philippines and Figi- Earthquakes in Italy, Philippines, Guatemala- Mud and landslides in Peru- an arms depot explosion in the Republic of Congo- the devastation in New York from Hurricane Sandy with the deployment of 5,900 blankets.

However the conflict in Syria has forced more than 1 million people to leave their homes with refugees flooding to south Sudan, Lebanon and Iraq-Kurdistan. In response ShelterBox deployed special 'winterised' tents insulated with aluminium foil which gives an extra 10% warmth.

Not this...

but this

In 2011 ShelterBox has had many calls on its resources: deploying in 18 countries from the USA to New Zealand responding to disasters from conflict in Libya; earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand, India and Turkey; hurricanes, Cyclones, Typhoons and flooding in Mexico, Philippines, USA, Colombia, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Pakistan, South Korea and Thailand to chronic drought in Ethiopia and Kenya.

The importance of the work of ShelterBox can be seen in its responses to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the earthquake in New Zealand.

JapanJapan was rocked by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded and a devastating tsunami. The northeast coast of Japan's main island, Honshu, faced the full impact of the tsunami and roads, rail, power and ports were all destroyed. Close to 350,000 people were living in emergency evacuation centres throughout the country. The large aftershocks, heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures and a severe lack of fuel created huge challenges for the aid efforts.

ShelterBox consider the destruction rivalled the worst of anything they had ever seen before and was the most complex disaster scenario ever dealt with. ShelterBox tents were set up for families in desperate need in the tsunami-hit Iwate Prefecture of Japan, one of the areas worst affected by the tsunami. OCHA has stated that the most vulnerable groups currently living in the evacuation centres began to suffer from the psychological toll of spending nights in a communal centre, in freezing temperatures, having lost everything in the disaster. So ShelterBox tents were used to provide privacy and restore dignity to the 200 families sheltering in an evacuation centre – a school gymnasium - in Ofunato.

New ZealandShortly before the earthquake in Japan ShelterBox had responded to a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand where over 10,000 homes were destroyed. 120 boxes were sent out immediately from Australia and a further 200 were sent by air freight from the UK.

Following this earthquake the Club asked members for their support for the Rotary Club of Belfast, Christchurch. The members responded admirably and £1,053 was forwarded to them which they have used to donate emergency boxes to each classroom of Belfast School, Christchurch.

In 2010 ShelterBox had its busiest year and the great work of these boxes became only too apparent. In response to desperate world-wide need deployments were made in 16 countries responding to earthquakes, flooding, cyclones and landslides.

Haiti228,417 ShelterBoxes were sent to Haiti after the earthquake; more than they have ever sent out before in one year, let alone to one country delivering emergency shelter to more than 284,000 people. The first boxes were used to build emergency field hospitals. There were desperate conditions with amputations happening every half hour.

Only 7 weeks after the disaster more than 7,000 ShelterBoxes provided shelter for over 70,000 people. Several small encampments throughout the country had been set up and thousands of people left homeless in the Capital were able to move to a 'city of tents' - a camp with hundreds of ShelterBox tents situated near to the US Embassy in Port au Prince. The encampment named Congress Camp allowed them to stay close to their communities and carry on with their daily lives.

from this...

to this...

This emergency shelter solution has been robust enough to last over a year and close to a million people are still sheltering in makeshift camps throughout Haiti. Tragically, it seems very unlikely that families will be moving out in 2011.

PakistanThe floods that swept through Pakistan in August 2010, with nearly a month of rain, were described as having the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami coupled with the devastation of the Haiti earthquake. At one point, a fifth of the country, an area bigger than the UK, was under water and an estimated 20 million people were directly affected by the flooding. The floods killed thousands, wiped out villages, infrastructure and farmland, and left millions of people homeless. Picture shows a camp near Karachi.

AfricaThroughout the year ShelterBox was present in Africa delivering aid in Kenya, Egypt, Uganda and Niger, helping hundreds of families on both sides of the continent. This year's annual flooding in West Africa caused chaos across the region and the floods in Benin were the worst to hit the country in close to 50 years.

Central and South AmericaShelterBox also responded to a series of disasters throughout Central and South America – floods in Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Mexico, landslides in Guatemala and Peru, Hurricane in St Lucia, Cyclone in Figi and a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Chile.

Indonesia & ChinaIn mid-October, ShelterBox was operating in Indonesia and the Philippines - Indonesia was hit by twin disasters – a tsunami off the coast of Sumatra and the eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java. These a week after super-typhoon, Megi, left a trail of destruction behind it. ShelterBox is also helped families who lost their homes in the eruption of Mount Merapi, Central Java. The tsunami was triggered by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck 20 kilometres beneath the ocean floor off the island of Sumatra. The massive wave swept up to 600 meters inland in some places and triggered a huge response from ShelterBox. ShelterBox also responded to an earthquake in China.

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